"Almost" Homemade Shampoo and Hair Rinse

This is how I make an "almost" homemade shampoo and hair rinse.  I want to use more natural things and I love using herbs. First, I gather my ingredients........................

The above picture shows most of the ingredients-
Here I am showing closer pictures of them....

The basil, mint, lavender and rosemary are from my own harvested herbs.........

These ingredients are from herb stores or Amish stores - or even the grocery store.......

 I reuse regular shampoo and creme rinse bottles.........the first step is to remove the lids.......I use a regular butter knife and pry it under the lid, then twist, and the top pops right off.

 I experiment quite a bit and have made different varieties of shampoo and rinse. I have seen recipes and tried some and tweaked and added and subtracted and for right now, this is what I am using:

Shampoo

Basil, rosemary, oatstraw, horsetail/shavegrass, lavender, peppermint, Vitamin E oil, essential oils, about 1" of regular shampoo that doesn't smell very strong.

Hair Rinse

Apple Cider vinegar, Rosemary, black tea, cloves, comfrey, fenugreek, flaxseed, lavender, nettle, Vitamin E oil, essential oils.

 If you do not have some of the ingredients....just leave them out and there is no need to use as many as I do.........even just a few would be fine. The different ingredients do different things.....and you can experiment to see what works best for you.

 I mixed the herbs together in a bowl - one bowl for the shampoo and one for the rinse......


Then put some of the shampoo herbs in a teaball or strainer cup(what I use) and pour boiling water over. Let steep for 5-10 min......Do the same with the hair rinse herbs, but keep them separate.

For the shampoo, I start with about 1" of regular shampoo in the bottom of each bottle.....I choose a shampoo that has very little scent to it as I want to smell the herbs, not the perfume.

Next, make an infusion (a strong tea) using the shampoo herbs and let it steep for a few minutes........The measuring cup shows the shampoo herbs that have steeped and are ready to use.

Fill the shampoo bottle with the infusion.....see how the regular shampoo stays separated at the bottom? Tipping the bottles upside down and shaking takes care of that..................At first the infusion tea is very warm, so the bottles are warm.............Add essential oils - I use about 20 drops of rosemary, 15 drops of lavender and maybe some mint drops to each bottle.  Smells so good. :)  All ready to use.



 Next, the Hair Rinse...............  Fill the bottle about 1/4 of the way full with Apple Cider Vinegar.....

Steep the herbs for the hair rinse........
then add to the bottles with the vinegar. Add some vitamin e oil and essential oils........again, I like to use about 20 drops of rosemary oil, 10 of lavender, maybe some mint, cloves or other.....

Put the lid on - it just pops back on - and shake.

All ready to use...........

The shampoo does not lather as much, but it cleans the hair very nicely. The hair rinse can be rinsed off the hair or left on........I usually rinse lightly with water after keeping it on for about 3-5 minutes.

Since I have gotten tired of getting out all of the herbs and spices each time to make this, I mixed up extra this time and bagged them, so that it will be much easier to make the tea/infusion.






The nice thing about this shampoo and hair rinse is that it smells WONDERFUL.  Even the vinegar smell is gone after the hair dries, but the herbal scents linger nicely.  In our family, we have people with dry hair, oily hair, thin hair, thick hair, normal hair.............and these seem to work for everyone who has tried it. My husband says he LOVES how it makes his hair feel.

I need to keep experimenting to make the hair rinse more of a detangler for long hair. Overall, these work very well and we are happy with them, but I will most likely keep adding and subtracting and tweaking more and more.

Once you build a supply of herbs, it is amazing what all can be done with them.........and they go a long way.


Other sites you may enjoy..........

Modest Monday
Whatever Goes Wednesday